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Legitimate iOS Apps Infected by Malware, Removed From App Store

Apple’s App Store is been compromised by attackers with the help of XcodeGhost tinted version of Xcode used by developers to submit apps to App Store. Apple Inc said on Sunday it is cleaning up its iOS App Store to remove malicious iPhone and iPad programs identified in the first large-scale attack on the popular mobile software outlet.

The company disclosed the effort after several cyber security firms reported finding a malicious program dubbed XcodeGhost that was embedded in hundreds of legitimate apps.

The hackers embedded the malicious code in these apps by convincing developers of legitimate software to use a tainted, counterfeit version of Apple’s software for creating iOS and Mac apps, which is known as Xcode, Apple said.

“We’ve removed the apps from the App Store that we know have been created with this counterfeit software,” Apple spokeswoman Christine Monaghan said in an email. “We are working with the developers to make sure they’re using the proper version of Xcode to rebuild their apps.”

The tainted version of Xcode was downloaded from a server in China that developers may have used because it allowed for faster downloads than using Apple’s U.S. servers, Olson said.

Chinese security firm Qihoo360 Technology Co (QIHU.N) said on its blog that it had uncovered 344 apps tainted with XcodeGhost.

While Apple has removed the infected versions of the apps from the App Store, the company has not said whether it’s removed the apps from users’ devices. Tech Insider has translated a partial list of the affected apps (many of which are big in China, but several are popular in the Western world as well), so if you see an app you use on the list, it might be worth waiting for an update before you continue using it:

WeChat

Didi Chuxing (developed by Uber’s biggest rival in China Didi Kuaidi)

Angry Birds 2

NetEase

Micro Channel

IFlyTek input

Railway 12306 (the only official app used for buying train tickets in China.)